Peoples Democracy newsletter

MAHA: CPI(M) Loses Two Stalwarts To Covid: Vithal More and Uddhav Bhawalkar

SEPTEMBER was a cruel month for the CPI(M) in Maharashtra. One of the most respected Party leaders in the state, Dr Vithal More, a former member of the state secretariat, passed away on September 18. He was 71. Less than a fortnight earlier, a fighting Party and trade union leader, Uddhav Bhawalkar, also a former member of the state secretariat, passed away on September 5. He was 68. Both were victims of Covid.

Industrial Accidents in India & Impunity Corporates Enjoy

INDIA has witnessed a number of industrial accidents recently -- toxic gas leak at LG Polymers factory in Visakhapatnam, boiler explosion at Yashashvi Rasayan Private Limited in Gujarat’s Dahej, two boiler explosions in Tamil Nadu, toxic gas leak at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh, and boiler explosion at a Lucknow chemical factory. In addition, the coal mining sector has reported some accidents.

Enslaving Labour

THE three labour laws passed in Parliament at the fag end of the truncated monsoon session constitute a grave assault on the working class of the country. The Industrial Relations Code, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and the Social Security Code, along with the Code on Wages adopted last year, were ostensibly meant to simplify and modernise the host of laws related to labour. However, the entire exercise was aimed at fulfilling a vital element of the neoliberal reforms, which is to usher in a regime of hire and fire, labour flexibility and removal of all prote

Brutal Gangrape & Murder of Dalit Girl

THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, in a statement issued on September 30, has strongly condemned the brutal gangrape and murder of the young dalit woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh by upper caste goondas. Shockingly the local police delayed the registration of FIR for days and she was not given adequate medical care. Finally public pressure led to her transfer to Delhi but it was too late. In a most objectionable statement, the district SP denied that she had been raped and said that her tongue had not been cut but she had bitten it herself.

Democracy at Crossroads

THE BJP-led NDA government at the centre is leading the common people into an eventual bankruptcy with a plethora of anti-people measures. What is being pushed into circulation by the centre, is the rhetoric of jingoistic nationalism and communal agenda that dubiously hides the plight of toiling masses.Such attempts to divert public attention are made whenever people’s angst starts to emerge against the misdeeds of the centre.

Defence Offsets: CAG Review and Govt’s Latest Changes

VIRTUALLY on the last day of the budget session of parliament while it was in turmoil, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) tabled its Report No.20 of 2019, which is a review of the defence offsets policy all the way from its inception in 2005 till the present time. While a summary statement was released by CAG to the press, the detailed report has unfortunately not been posted on either the CAG website or on the websites of either house, restricting access of the public to this important report and the information contained in it.

Historic Response to Pratirodh Diwas against Anti-Farmer Bills

Total Bandh in Punjab and Haryana, Widespread in Rajasthan and KarnatakaHighways and Rail Lines Blocked, Effigies of Modi Burnt in Many StatesWorkers and Different Sections Unite in Support of FarmersRESPONSE to the Pratirodh Diwas (Protest Day) call on September 25, given by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) against the anti-farmer bills brought by the Narendra Modi led BJP government has been unprecedented. It has been a historic resistance with masses coming out in lakhs across India.

AIDWA Condemns Naming of Brinda Karat in Chargesheet

THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on September 26, has strongly condemned the naming of its patron, Brinda Karat, in two disclosure statements filed with a chargesheet by the Delhi police obviously at the behest of the BJP government at the centre and specifically the home ministry. The naming falsely and preposterously seeks to make her also responsible for the communal violence in North East Delhi.

Throttling Democracy

THE truncated monsoon session of parliament has been, in every sense, the worst session of parliament ever held, except probably the one during the emergency in 1976 that adopted the 42nd constitutional amendment meant to facilitate an authoritarian regime.What happened in the Rajya Sabha, when two of the bills related to agriculture were being considered, was a mockery of parliamentary democracy. After a curtailed discussion, the deputy chairman railroaded through the two bills violating all parliamentary procedures and rules. The demand to put the statutory resolutions disapproving the o

Bhagat Singh and Today’s Youth

COME September 27 (September 28 according to some), India will be commemorating the birth anniversary of Shaheed-e-azam Bhagat Singh. An eternal youth icon, Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary should be an occasion for us to look at the status of youth in our country, the relevance of Bhagat Singh’s ideas, particularly in today’s socio-economic and political situation.In the past nine months, while the entire world was busy fighting the pandemic and socio-economic conditions exacerbated by it, there were a series of reports released about the status of youth.

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report Big protest action against bribery, drugs and crime against women THE CPI(M) in Tripura has organised a statewide protest movement on three key demands – dismissal of state minister Sudhangshu Das who admitted to accepting bribe from contractors and government suppliers, immediate identification and arrest of the drug-traffickers who transported two huge consignments of banned Eskuf cough syrup, and prompt action against the perpetrators of several recent dastardly... Read More	report SIR aims to overthrow democratic system, must be rolled back Read More	report Kochi Global City Project to generate 1.20 lakh direct jobs and 3.6 lakh indirect jobs Read More	PB Statements Ensure Ceasefire in Gaza Read More
PB Statements Oppose the Extension of SIR Read More